Sleepless Nights
by ChaoticHeroine
Summary: Set post 4x22 pre 5x01, a small moment between Olivia and Walter where they discuss parenthood and pancakes. #shamelessfluff


**A/N:** I used to be on this site ages ago, but I quit writing for five years. Count 'em 1,2,3,4,5 years. This is my first venture into Fringe however, but I have about 15 plot bunnies that are eating at my brain like a virus. This is simple, and cheesy and maybe crap, but to be honest I don't care. Because if I don't post my crap now, I won't post the good stuff ever. So here is to new beginnings.

Dedicated to my family who showed me Fringe, and to the show Fringe for showing me what it's like to be a nerd again, writing fanfictions and going on forums until 3am.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this show. If I did I'd still be making episodes of it...or at least go get coffee with Anna, Josh, John and Jasika.

**...**

4:34am, Peter and Walter Bishop's house.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick.

Olivia Dunham ran her hand through her hair and sighed. Sleep was evading her at the moment so it had made more sense to sit up and read a book, something to occupy her mind. However the lamp on her side of the bed was keeping Peter awake, so she turned off the small light and let him drift off to sleep before she made her exit from the bedroom into the living room. That was two hours ago. Now she found herself still sleepless, at a time when most people were getting their last few precious hours, if not minutes, of sleep. Normally when she couldn't sleep she would drink a few glasses of Johnny Walker and let her mind wander, however that wasn't exactly an option seeing as she was almost five months pregnant.

_It's actually kind of ironic, _she thought, _I'm tired during the day, and yet I can't sleep at night. Figures. _

She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and walked over to pour herself a glass of water. She quietly shut the refrigerator door and turned to walk back into the living room. However, in the dimly lit dining area, she did not notice how close she was to the kitchen table, and as she walked she bumped the table with her hip, knocking the centerpiece over and spilling decorative fruit into the floor.

_Damn. So much for being quiet. _

She heard Peter stir in his sleep and she stood in place waiting to see if he had woken up. Thankfully he hadn't, so she continued her trek back to the couch to sit down. She readjusted her reading glasses and picked back up the book she was reading.

"Olivia, what are you doing up so early?" She heard a familiar voice ask, and she looked up to see Walter, wearing a striped red bathrobe and argyle tube socks.

"Never went to sleep. Same question for you."

"I had gotten up to urinate when I heard something fall over in here, so I thought I would come see what all of the noise was." Walter replied. "Anyhow onwards to my next question, why are you up this early, or late as it is in your case. Sleep is crucial to the development of a child _and _the health of a mother, you know?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine, you can go back to sleep Walter. I'll wake you up in a few hours and we can make breakfast." Olivia replied, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"Nonsense, something is troubling you, and I _will _help you _through it_. I owe you that much after all I have put you through recently…" His voice trailed off, memories of the event that took place on William Bell's ark flooding his mind, but he shook his head and continued his thought. "However breakfast does sound nice. Would you like some pancakes while we talk?" Walter asked.

Olivia smiled, "thank you, Walter."

Olivia and Walter walked over to the kitchen, and as Walter began making the pancakes, Olivia picked up the decorative fruit that covered the dining room floor. The smell of cinnamon and fresh blueberries filled the room.

"So," Walter began, "are you going to come right out with it or am I going to have to impress you with my interrogation skills, _Agent _Dunham?"

Olivia pursed her lips and nodded. "I've just been stressed, that's all it is."

_Sizzle. _Walter flipped the pancake in the frying pan. "What has you filled with such trepidation my dear?"

Olivia sighed. "I felt her move for the first time right before we got in bed. I don't know why but the first emotion I felt was fear. I just wonder how I'm going to do this. I'm so damaged from all of my childhood issues, abusive step-father, cortexiphan trials, not to mention the fact that I have possibly one of the most dangerous jobs known to man. It just all seemed so real, that I was growing a tiny person in there and I'm just scared that I won't be enough for her. I don't want to screw her up…or turn her into me."

Walter put a plate of food in front of Olivia and sat down across from her.

"Olivia. You are one of the greatest people I've ever known, and you will be an excellent mother, I am sure of it, and for that matter if your child becomes half the woman you are, she will be a lucky girl. This particular fear however is a normal reaction to parenthood, because it stems from love. Your fear is not for yourself, rather you fear for your child. This should prove to you that you will in fact be a good mother, because you already are." Walter reached his hand across the table to grab Olivia's hand. She smiled at him, quite touched by what he had to say.

Olivia and Walter finished their four am breakfast and then they headed to the living room. Walter turned on an old detective film and sat in his recliner. Olivia stretched out on the couch, and within the first twenty minutes of the movie, Walter noticed she began to fall asleep. Once he was certain that she was out, he turned off the lamp and walked over to her, covering her up with one of the blankets that was draped over the arm of the couch. He gently kissed the top of her head and whispered, "goodnight, Olive."

_fin_

_Read and Review _


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